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Should Fedor Emelianenko be the Fighter to Punish "The Spider" after UFC 112?

Anderson Silva is clearly the most dominant fighter in the UFC. Fans have always had respect for Silva's fighting, even if they weren't too crazy about him as a person. However, after Anderson Silva's recent treatment of underdog Demian Maia during UFC 112, the UFC officially has a new villain.

Fans are now more than ever looking for anyone who can handle "The Spider" as a punishment for his mockery. We want to not only see Silva challenged, but to see him lose.

So who is right for the job?

The first fighter fans often want Silva to face is Georges St. Pierre.

It's true that if anyone can deliver a ground and pound beating to Silva, it'd be GSP, but according to Dana White it isn't happening because Silva doesn't deserve it .

Brock Lesnar is powerful enough to teach Silva a lesson, but he will soon have his hands full with the monstrous Shane Carwin .

So why not Fedor Emelianenko?

Every UFC fan can recall last year's negotiations between Dana White and Fedor Emelianenko. Although Dana White offered Emelianenko a lucrative deal, there ended up being no agreement for a few reasons. Mainly Emelianenko's promotional company, M-1 Global, wanted to become actual partners with the UFC.

However, with regard to Silva's punishment for his recent behavior towards Demian Maia, Dana White may just want to reconsider Emelianenko. Perhaps a superfight can be arranged in which there would be no long-term contract negotiations, but instead just a lucrative one-fight deal.

It is known that as long as his management agrees to a contract, Emelianenko is willing to fight anyone. Being that Emelianenko's contract with Strikeforce is constantly under renegotiation, there is a chance that Dana White could slip Emelianenko an offer. Emelianenko would simply need to make sure M-1 Global, his promotional company, would accept a big, one-fight deal.

Who wouldn't pay to see "The Last Emperor" face the most dominant fighter in the Octagon? Emelianenko has beaten very dangerous opponents who have exhibited speed, accuracy, power, and size. Such fighters include Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Heath Herring, Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic, Tim Sylvia, and Andrei Arlovski.

Fighting at around 235 lbs, this would not be a simple match of power versus skill. Emelianenko has just as precise striking as Silva, he's clearly more powerful, and, despite being patient, he's just as quick to throw that knockout punch.

On the ground Emelianenko is without a doubt a lot more brutal than Silva has ever proven to be, partly because Silva has rarely been taken there. Nevertheless, Silva has lost twice by submission, while Fedor's only recorded loss is due to disqualification, despite winning in an understandably controversial match by decision against Ricardo Arona .

Still, when looking at Emelianenko's record of 31-1-0, it alone outshines Silva's 26-4-0 record .

As far as experience in fighting bigger, more powerful opponents, Fedor takes the credit as many of his opponents have been the biggest, tallest fighters in MMA. He demolished the huge Tim Sylvia in 36 seconds.

As far as talent in opponents, Emelianenko has grounded and pounded "Big Nog" in two different fights to take the victory both times, and he knocked Andrei Arlovski out cold in the first round.

Such performance demands credibility, and such domination adds to Fedor's factor of power that Silva has yet to experience in any middleweight or light heavyweight UFC match. In fact, power may just be the biggest element that separates Emelianenko from Silva, as both are prominent in their respective ranks, and both are legendary.

If Dana White did negotiate a deal with Emelianenko, fans would be rewarded in two ways; One: we would have one of the few seemingly impossible dream matches that we have been wanting for years, and two: even if Silva did manage to somehow defeat Emelianenko, which many doubt, he would likely get a beating in the process.

There would be a possibility for more dream matches (e.g. Emelianenko vs. Lesnar) with Emelianenko in the UFC mix, but there isn't much of a chance for this if the negotiations go the same way they did in 2009. Basically, Dana White will be unwilling to adopt M-1 as partner of the UFC, and rightfully so.

However, even if Emelianenko vs. Silva were a one-time superfight, it would be well worth the money spent to sign Emelianenko.

Fans would respect Dana White for giving us what we want: a chance for "The Spider" to be stomped once and for all in a much anticipated dream match. Plus it could offer a lot more opportunities for the already competitive UFC heavyweight division to test the mysterious Emelianenko.

The trouble with signing Emelianenko is that if negotiations failed before, they are likely to fail again. However, if Dana White pushes a one-fight contract, it's possible that M-1 could be willing to be a co-promoter of Emelianenko rather than an outright partner with the UFC.

Nobody doubts that a fight between Emelianenko and Silva would make a substantial amount of money, which would hopefully satisfy the business aspirations of both the UFC and M-1 Global.

One thing is clear, though: After his treatment of Demian Maia at UFC 112, Anderson Silva made it evident that he's not being challenged enough in the Octagon.

Unfortunately, Lesnar and GSP are off limits for the moment. However, against Emelianenko, Silva might just get what he's asking for...and he would likely regret it.